Information regarding the work of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia to raise public awareness with regard to activities to combat corruption in 2010 and the first quarter of 2011

Yerevan, 20 April 2011

2010

On 30 January, 27 March and 16 May 2010, a programme was broadcast on Armenian television channels Ar and Kentron about a criminal case in which V. Papyan, head of the Kotayk Province Investigations Division of the Main Investigation Department of the national police of Armenia, and S. Khachatryan, an investigator working for the same division, were investigated and prosecuted for accepting bribes. Officials of the Corruption and Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia took part in the programme.

On 11 June 2010, with the participation of the Anti-Corruption Center of the international non-governmental organization Transparency International, a meeting was organized and an interview held with A. Ashrafyan, head of the Corruption and Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office.

On 30 June 2010, the Prosecutor-General’s Office organized a round table with the participation of prosecutorial officials, the President of the Armenian Young Lawyers’ Association (a non-governmental organization) and K. Zadoyan, who is responsible for the work of the anti-corruption advocacy and assistance centres of the Aragatsotn, Vayots Dzor and Tavush provinces. The participants discussed practical issues relating to cooperation between the prosecution agencies and the centres.

On 4 July 2010, a programme on the outcome of the investigation of a criminal case in which M. Yakhanyan, a detective working for the Criminal Investigations Division of the Kotayk Province Police Department, was found to have accepted bribes was broadcast on television channel Ar.

In 2010, with the assistance and participation of the Prosecutor-General’s Office and the funding of the Yerevan office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the non-governmental organization Art Site filmed and broadcast a documentary on cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and the general public in combating corruption. A. Hovsepyan, Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Armenia, A. Danielyan, Deputy Prosecutor-General, and A. Ashrafyan, head of the Corruption and Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, took part in the film.

On 5 October 2010, at the instruction of Deputy Prosecutor-General A. Danielyan, a presentation on the work of the law enforcement agencies in combating corruption was given by B. Petrosyan, deputy head of the Corruption and Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, A. Esayan, Head of Staff of the Prosecutor-General’s Office and S. Tonoyan, head of the Department for Public Relations and Organizational Activities of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, at the opening of the Yerevan anti-corruption advocacy and assistance centre.

On 30 and 31 October 2010, the press centre of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, in cooperation with the Centre for Freedom of Information, a non-governmental organization, held a seminar in the town of Agveran on the problems of freedom of information and the prevention of corruption, in which prosecutorial officials and journalists took part and gave presentations. A wide-ranging and informative presentation was given by Deputy Prosecutor-General M. Sarkisyan. The work of the seminar was reported in the mass media.

On 9 December 2010, S. Tonoyan, head of the Department for Public Relations and Organizational Activities of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, gave a presentation on the progress of efforts to combat corruption in the first nine months of 2010 at an event organized by the Armenian Young Lawyers’

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Association and the Yerevan anti-corruption advocacy and assistance centre to mark International Anti-Corruption Day.

From 3 to 5 November 2010, at the instruction of Deputy Prosecutor-General A. Danielyan, six prosecutorial officials, including S. Tonoyan, took part in a study seminar on priorities in preventing corruption, which was organized by the Christian Police Association of Switzerland for officials of the judicial and prosecution services and of the National Security Service, the police and representatives of political parties. The activities of the law enforcement agencies, particularly the prosecution service, to combat corruption were presented by way of contribution to the exchange of experience among participants.

On 1 December 2010, at the instruction of A. Hovsepyan, Prosecutor-General, the Prosecutorial School, a non-commercial State organization, in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), organized a study seminar for representatives of the anti-corruption advocacy and assistance centres on corruption offences and their investigation, at the end of which the participants received certificates. The work of the seminar was reported in the mass media.

On 8 December 2010, A. Boshnagyan, a senior prosecutor of the Corruption and Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, took part in a television broadcast by live link between Yerevan, Moscow and Tbilisi entitled “The public versus corruption”, during which he presented the anti-corruption strategy of the Republic of Armenia for the period 2009-2012, the measures adopted to implement that strategy, the list of corruption offences established by order of the Prosecutor General’s Office on 19 November 2008, statistical data on the detection and investigation of corruption offences and information on prosecutions carried out in connection with those cases and the penalties imposed by the courts.

First quarter of 2011

On 2 March 2011, the Logistical Supervision Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, in response to a request by the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, provided that organization with detailed information on disciplinary proceedings initiated against prosecutorial officials in 2010.

In April 2011, a film on the work of the prosecution agencies in combating corruption was broadcast on television channel Erkir Media. Prosecutor-General A. Hovsepyan, Deputy Prosecutor-General A. Danielyan and the head of the Corruption and Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, A. Ashrafyan, took part in the film.

On 29 and 30 January 2011, at the joint initiative of the Department for Public Relations and Organizational Activities of the Prosecutor-General’s Office and the Centre for Freedom of Information, a discussion seminar was held in Tsaghkadzor on freedom of information and of expression in criminal proceedings, with the participation of Deputy Prosecutor-General M. Sarkisyan, the head of the Corruption and Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, A. Ashrafyan, other prosecutorial officials and representatives of the mass media. A report produced by the Prosecutor-General’s Office on the activities of the law enforcement agencies in combating corruption and the role of the mass media was presented.

On 19 and 20 March 2011, at the joint initiative of the Department for Public Relations and Organizational Activities of the Prosecutor-General’s Office and the Centre for Freedom of Information, a working seminar was held in Agveran on the particular issues associated with freedom of information in relation to the activities of the law enforcement agencies, with the participation of officials of the prosecution service, the police and the Ministry of Justice. A. Ashrafyan, head of the Corruption and

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Organized Crime Department of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, gave a presentation. The work of the seminar was reported in the mass media.

Over the course of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011, the general public and representatives of the mass media were able to obtain comprehensive information, updated and supplemented continuously on the website of the Prosecutor-General’s Office (www.genproc.am), on the uncovering and investigation of specific corruption-related offences, the prosecution of those cases and the penalties imposed by the courts.

In addition, in order to increase public awareness further, the following documents were posted on the website:

(1) The Prosecutors’ Code of Conduct, adopted by Order No. 17 of 30 May 2007 of the Prosecutor-General’s Office. The Code sets out the core principles and rules of conduct for prosecutors acting in their official and non-official capacities and information on the penalties applicable in the event of violation of the rules established in the Code; (2) The procedure for instituting and conducting disciplinary proceedings against prosecutorial officials, established by Order No. 20 of 30 May 2007 of the Prosecutor-General’s Office; (3) The procedure for commendation of prosecutorial officials, established by Order No. 25 of 31 May 2007 of the Prosecutor-General’s Office; (4) The Regulations governing the Staff Appraisal Commission under the Authority of the Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Armenia, adopted by Order No. 24 of 31 May 2007. The Regulations establish the functions of the Commission as follows: (a) For the purposes of recruiting candidates to the roster of prosecutors of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, to ensure that citizens have equal opportunities for participation in the annual open competition, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, political or other views, social origin or financial or other status, and to ensure transparency in the conduct of the competition and the official publication of the competition results; (b) To ensure that appraisal of the performance of prosecutors is based on the specific expertise and professional skills of those prosecutors; (c) To ensure the establishment of a roster of prosecutors who have been promoted.

All of the above-mentioned documents have been published in a book entitled “Compilation of orders, instructions and directives issued by the Prosecutor-General of the Republic of Armenia and his deputies” (publisher: Tigran Mets, Yerevan, 2008).

Corruption and Organized Crime Department Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia